A system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps generated by a network device is disclosed. In one embodiment, a storage management device is disposed between a network device and a storage device. The network device is programmed with a virtual address that is associated with the storage management device. Upon generating a data dump, the network device writes the data dump to the virtual address where the storage management device receives the data dump and redirects it to a long-term storage location. Additionally, the storage management device can generate a record of each data dump that indicates the network device that generated the data dump and where the data dump was stored.
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9. A system for capturing error data generated by a network device, the system comprising:
an interface connectable to the network device, the interface configured to receive the error data generated by the network device;
a process manager coupled to the interface, the process manager configured to transfer the received error data to a first storage device; and
a second storage device coupled to the process manager, the second storage device configured to store an allocation table.
1. A system for capturing error data generated by network device, the system comprising:
an interface connectable to the network device, the interface being configured to receive, at a location remote from the network device, the error data generated by the network device;
a process manager coupled to the interface, the process manager being configured to transfer the received error data to a first storage device; and
a second storage device coupled to the process manager, the second storage device configured to store an allocation table.
17. A system for capturing error data generated by a network device, the system comprising:
at least a first processor configured to generate instructions;
at least a first memory device connected to the processor;
a plurality of instructions stored on the memory device, the plurality of instructions configured to cause the at least a first processor to perform the steps of:
receiving the error data from the network device;
recording an identity indicator for the network device from which the error data was received;
transferring the received error data to a storage device; and
recording the identity of the storage device to which the error data was redirected, wherein the identity of the storage device is recorded in association with the recorded identity indicator for the network device, and wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to cause the at least a first processor to perform the step of writing the error data to a virtual address.
3. The system of
4. The system of
a buffer coupled to the interface, the buffer being configured for storing the error data received by the interface.
6. The system of
7. The system of
a directory in communication with the process manager, the directory configured to store a configuration record unique to the network device.
8. The system of
the first storage device coupled to the interface, the first storage device configured to store the transferred error data.
11. The system of
12. The system of
a buffer coupled to the interface, the buffer for storing the error data received by the interface.
14. The system of
15. The system of
a directory in communication with the process manager, the directory configured to store a configuration record unique to the network device.
16. The system of
the first storage device coupled to the interface, the first storage device configured to store the transferred error data.
18. The system of
reading the virtual address from a memory associated with the network device.
19. The system of
storing the received error data in the storage device.
20. The system of
recording the identity indicator for the network device in a configuration record that is unique to the network device.
21. The system of
22. The system of
transferring the received error data to a remote storage device.
23. The system of
posting an error data indicator to a network manager.
24. The system of
posting the identity indicator to the network manager; and
posting the identity of the storage device to the network manager.
25. The system of
executing a predefined action responsive to the error data indicator being posted to the network manager.
26. The system of
redirecting the received error data.
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This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/730,680, filed Dec. 6, 2000, status awaiting publication.
The following commonly owned and assigned patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety:
The present invention relates generally to network systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to systems and methods for capturing data generated by network devices such as routers and optical devices.
Data dumps have long been a tool utilized by software and hardware engineers to identify errors within computer systems. For example, core dumps were once used as the primary method for debugging complex computer programs. Improvements in programming languages and the development of interactive debuggers, however, have reduced the use of core dumps for debugging most application programs. Nonetheless, core dumps and the capture of core dumps are still essential for programmers attempting to debug operating systems and other low level programs.
As operating systems become more sophisticated, the need for capturing and analyzing data dumps becomes increasingly more important, both in the general purpose computer environment and in the network device environment. For example, modern routers are configured to generate core dumps when certain errors are encountered or when the routers crash. Network administrators need to capture these core dumps. One solution to capturing core dumps includes hardwiring a write-out address, e.g., a TCP/IP address, in each individual router. Such a solution is employed by Cisco Systems and is illustrated in
As the size of networks grows, hardwiring each network device with a write-out address becomes more tedious, cumbersome and error prone. In many networks, hundreds of network devices should initially be configured with the appropriate hardwired write-out address to which core dumps can be written, and these network devices should be reconfigured each time that the associated storage devices are relocated, removed or otherwise altered. Moreover, in an effort to keep track of which network devices write to which storage devices, administrators are often forced to keep some sort of log that should be updated anytime that the configuration of the relevant storage devices is changed. That is, the log must be updated when storage devices are relocated, removed, added, etc.
The difficulties in managing these hardwired write-out addresses have become so staggering that many network administrators do not even initially configure the addresses and thereby sacrifice the ability to capture core dumps. Unfortunately, because network devices and their operating systems are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, failing to capture core dumps is no longer a viable option available to the network administrator. Accordingly, the network community has been scrambling to find solutions for efficiently capturing core dumps.
An alternate solution for capturing core dumps has been developed by Juniper Networks Inc. Juniper has designed routers with onboard, i.e., integrated, storage for recording core dumps. This basic configuration is illustrated in
Although Juniper has solved some of the problems associated with hardwiring each network device with a write-out address, Juniper's solution introduces an entire new set of problems. For example, integrating storage directly into each router significantly increases the cost of each device. Additionally, by integrating storage directly into the router, the physical size of the router is increased. In fact, Juniper routers require a significantly larger amount of valuable rack space than a comparable router that does not include the integrated storage.
Even though Juniper's solution to capturing data dumps is plagued by significant problems, network administrators have been receptive to its solution for lack of a better option. Accordingly, the network community is in immediate need of a better option. In particular, the network community is in need of a system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps generated by network devices.
To remedy the above described and other deficiencies of the current technology, a system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps from network devices is disclosed. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a storage management device disposed between a network device and a storage device. The network device is programmed with a virtual address—associated with the storage management device—to which a data dump generated by that network device can be written. Because the virtual address can be mapped to the physical location of the storage management device, each network device within the relevant network can be configured to write to that virtual address rather than to a hardwired address that corresponds to a storage device. By simply remapping the virtual address to a new physical address, the storage management unit can be moved from one physical point on the network to another physical point on the network without updating the virtual address stored in the network devices.
Furthermore, the storage manager can be programmed with the addresses for those storage devices to which a data dump can be redirected. In this embodiment, upon receiving a data dump, the storage manager can redirect or otherwise transfer the data to one of those storage devices. Thus, the network devices never necessarily need to know the actual addresses for the storage devices that will store the data dump. In other embodiments, the storage manager can keep a record of each network device that generates a data dump and the location at which each data dump is stored. Network administrators can search a compilation of these records to locate the data dumps.
Accordingly, the present invention overcomes the problems with the present technology and addresses the needs of the network community. The above-described embodiments as well as other embodiments are described in more detail herein.
Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:
Although the present invention is open to various modifications and alternative constructions, a preferred exemplary embodiment that is shown in the drawings is described herein in detail. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. One skilled in the art can recognize that there are numerous modifications, equivalents and alternative constructions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.
Referring now to
Still referring to
The benefits of the system such as the one illustrated in
The present invention also provides significant benefits over network devices with integrated storage (element 135 in
Referring now to
In addition to the front-end 170 and back-end interfaces 175, the storage manager 145 can include a process manager 180 that monitors for incoming data dumps and determines how to best redirect those data dumps. The process manager 180 can include a microprocessor (not shown) configured to run a daemon that continuously monitors for transmissions received at the front-end interface 170. Once the process manager determines that a data dump is being received at the front-end interface 170, the process manager 180 can then determine how to handle the incoming transmission. For example, the process manager 180 can determine to which associated storage device 150 (shown in
In determining how to route an incoming data dump, the process manager 180 can access the network allocation table 185 that stores entries about the storage devices 150 (shown in
In further embodiments, the process manager can cause an entry to be created in the network allocation table 185 each time a core dump is received. Such an entry could indicate from which network device 135 (shown in
Still referring to
Referring now to
Upon receiving a data dump from a network device 160, 165, the storage manager 145 can generate a message indicating the receipt of the data dump and transmit that message to a network manager 200. (The network manager 200 can be integrated with the storage manager 145 to form a single device.) Such a message would generally indicate the identity of the network device 160, 165 that generated the data dump and the identity of the storage device 150 to which the data dump was redirected. In particular, such a message could indicate the name of the network device 160, 165 generating the data dump, the address of the storage device 150 to which the data dump was written and a particular block within that storage device 150 at which the data dump has been stored.
After receiving a data dump message from the storage manager 145, the network manager 200 can initiate a set of predetermined actions. In fact, a network administrator 202 can configure the network manager 200 to perform virtually any action in response to receiving a message about a data dump. (The network manager 200 is described in detail in commonly owned and assigned patent application no. CNTW-005/00US entitled Network Component Configuration and Management Method, filed on Dec. 6, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference.)
Referring now to
In further embodiments, the storage location of a data dump can be stored in a configuration record associated with the network device that generated the data dump. This configuration record along with the configuration records for the other network devices can be stored in the directory 215, which includes a central repository for storing configuration records for each of the network devices 160, 165 (shown in
Referring now to
Once the network device 160, 165 has written out the data dump to the virtual address, the storage manager 145 redirects that data to an associated storage device 150 (all shown in
In conclusion, the present system provides, among other things, a system and method for efficiently and easily capturing data dumps generated by network devices. Moreover, the present system provides a system and method for automatically responding to a data dump. Those skilled in the art, however, can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made to the invention, its use and its configuration to achieve substantially the same result as achieved by the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms. Many variations, modifications and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention as expressed in the claims.
Schenk, Jeffery A., Tindal, Glen
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